


Leave Before The Lights Come On

by PAPERSK1N



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: College!AU, F/M, Meg makes Ryan's coffee every morning, Romance, and obviously he falls in love with her, barista!au, coffee shop!AU, turnwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-26
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-16 11:29:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5826991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PAPERSK1N/pseuds/PAPERSK1N
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From her first day at working in The Know, and internet-café coffee shop, Meg would see The Man with The Blue Eyes without fail, every morning, five days a week at eight fifteen in the morning.</p><p>The Man ordered the same drink every time: One tall full-caf half-fat vanilla latte with a dash of cinnamon, which he would then proceed to saturate in sugar and creamer until really, it wasn’t much of a coffee at all. Then, every morning, he would take his first sip of what was essentially a warm milkshake and grimace at bittersweet taste like he couldn’t possibly imagine anything quite so disgusting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First

**Author's Note:**

> Turnwood fic as suggested by an anon on my tumblr (papersk1n.tumblr.com) so thanks anon for the prompt! My attempt at remedying the lack of this ship!!!! (feels like only yesterday I was saying that about Raywood when I posted Dirty Money)
> 
>  
> 
> please comment if you liked it?!

Chapter One

 

 

From her first day at working in _The Know,_ and internet-café coffee shop, Meg would see The Man with The Blue Eyes without fail, every morning, five days a week at eight fifteen.

The Man ordered the same drink every time: One tall full-caf half-fat vanilla latte with a dash of cinnamon, which he would then proceed to saturate in sugar and creamer until really, it wasn’t much of a coffee at all. Then, every morning, he would take his first sip of his warm milkshake and grimace at bittersweet taste like he couldn’t possibly imagine anything quite as disgusting.

For these reasons, among others involving wavy brown hair and tailored suits, Meg noticed him. The Man with The Blue Eyes didn’t seem to take much of notice her, however, until around the tenth or eleventh time she had made his drink. The café was pretty empty for early on a Thursday morning, so without another customer waiting, Meg decided to lean on the counter where The Man with The Blue Eyes would assemble his abomination and smiled brightly, before coyly asking; “You want some coffee with that creamer?”

 

* * *

 

 

Ryan was a man unused generally to female attention. For some reason women tended to only have shallow interest in him ( _they always like his eyes?_ ) and by the time he actually opened his mouth to speak they would become bored and uninterested in his nerdy disposition and constant incoherent flubs.

So when _“Meg <3!” _the red-haired new girl who’d shacked up in the coffee shop he’d been visiting for two years took over Ashley’s spot as morning barista, he’d crossed his fingers and prayed that she’d never even bother noticing him. Someone as captivating as _Meg_ <3!  didn’t need to be disappointed by someone as awkwardly inconsistent at him.

“ _You want some coffee with that creamer?_ ”

From the moment the words flowed from her perfect pink lips, he’d been hooked. His disgusting coffee sat untouched on the counter, sugar settled on top of the milk froth and slowly slipping underneath unaided as he stared blankly at her with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.

He’d been far too silent for far too long, and Meg noticed this immediately. Like a meerkat, she perked up with a perfect pout sat on her perfect face, hands moving to wipe at the counter in an attempt not to look him directly back in the eyes.

“Sorry,” she apologised. “Forget I said anything.”

Ryan had never been very good with women, and was usually content to let a blunder like this sit in the back of his mind, only to attack him with spurts of second and third hand embarrassment late at night when he had nothing else to think about, but _“Meg <3” _was beautiful and interesting and someone that he would likely be seeing every morning for potentially the rest of his career.

“-No, sorry.” He gulped, stirring his coffee quickly and fumbling to press the plastic lid back on. “I, uh- don’t care for coffee that much. I just drink it to stay awake in the mornings.”

One perfectly arched eyebrow floated to her forehead, and slowly, a small smile grew across her face as she tucked the rag back into her lime green apron. “Well,” her voice floated through the air like silk across skin. “ _Meg <3”_ had a paradox of a voice. A voice that was smooth and practiced yet high-pitched and childish. “ _Meg <3”_ had a voice like an elegantly drawn cartoon character. “-we’ve all been there. Ever tried Redbull?”

Ryan scoffed at the mere idea. A thousand extensive medical reasons specifically advising against the consumption of Redbull on a semi-regular basis spiralled through his mind, but in an effort to stay as nonchalant as possible, he pushed them away. _Be cool_ , a voice that sounded like Geoff’s told him. _Joke. Be light. Playful._

“I want to stay awake, not go into cardiac arrest.” He stated bluntly.

Thankfully, she only laughed- high and musical with her eyes screwed shut behind black-framed glasses and her hand covering her mouth and her perfectly constructed smile as the bell above the coffee shop door rang and another customer walked through. “ _Meg_ <3”, no longer his, excused herself with an inexplicable interpretation of the archetypal _Hollywood_ grin- and to Ryan it seemed to be the kind of smile that projected both a thousand words and a thousand mysteries. Unconsciously, and albeit only for a second she was practically screaming at him- _I know everything you do not._ Hers was kind of smile that girls in romance novels had- and he’d never thought they were real until that very moment when _“Meg <3”_ or simply Meg, as he was starting to refer to her as, smiled right at him, before skipping off to serve somebody else.

After finishing half of his God-forsaken coffee and tossing the rest away in the trashcan outside of work he barely gave Meg a second thought as the rest of the day went on. It was only when he began his walk towards the carpark and considered breezing in to order another drink, just so he could catch that smile again that he realised he was already in way too deep with a girl he didn’t yet know.

 

 


	2. Second

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It soon became a natural reflex, making Ryan’s drink. The bell would ring every morning at eight thirteen without fail and Ryan would stroll right on in with a smile and a wave just for her, his coffee already sat prepared on the counter. She would make it specially for him- a few extra pumps of vanilla to hide the bitter taste and enough sugar to down a diabetic mixed with plenty of creamer before signing her work with his name; Ryan!<3 written in a slanted black sharpie scrawl, still hot and waiting for him. Ryan himself didn’t ever say much to her in return, but the way he smiled at her and mumbled a quiet thank you before dropping anything north of five dollars in her personal tip jar was more than gracious.

Chapter 2

 

 

It soon became a natural reflex, making Ryan’s drink. The bell would ring every morning at eight thirteen without fail and Ryan would stroll right on in with a smile and a wave just for her, his coffee already sat prepared on the counter. She would make it specially for him- a few extra pumps of vanilla to hide the bitter taste and enough sugar to down a diabetic mixed with plenty of creamer before signing her work with his name; _Ryan! <3 _written in a slanted black sharpie scrawl, still hot and waiting for him. Ryan himself didn’t ever say much to her in return, but the way he smiled at her and mumbled a quiet _thank you_ before dropping anything north of five dollars in her personal tip jar was more than gracious.

For two weeks, he practically paid for her daily meals in tip money alone.

“Ryan likes you.” Ashley teased her relentlessly when they’d open up in the mornings and close in the afternoons. “Ryan likes you and he’s too embarrassed to say hi.”

“No he doesn’t,” she swatted Ashley with her dishcloth. For a manger, Ashley was pretty darn lax and was actually fast becoming one of her good friends in a city full of strangers. “If Ryan _liked_ me, I’m sure he’d be able to work up the courage to fucking say hello. I make his coffee, he pays me more than required. That’s as far as the relationship goes. End of story.”

That was not, by any means, as far as the relationship went.

 

* * *

 

 Ryan had his second conversation with Meg after a long night of grading papers. He’d been careless, and let the time slip away from him until it was approaching eleven PM and even the janitors of the university had gone home. He glanced at his watch and wondered, seemingly for a few seconds if she would even be inside _The Know_ , coffee sat on the counter and waiting for him. After deciding the idea was ridiculous, as Meg probably barely knew him as more than _Ryan-who-hates-coffee_ he promptly drove round anyway and pulled up outside the shop.

He spotted her through the window before she saw him approach.

 Meg was leant against the counter with her tired pretty face rested in her soft pretty hands, staring aimlessly at the clock across the room. Other than her, the shop was completely empty, so with new found confidence he rushed in, just as the rain began to fall outside.

The bell rang loudly, piercing the silence of the room and Meg looked up, a little startled at the idea of someone stumbling into the coffee shop at eleven twenty-three, at least an hour before the college parties got shut down and kids needed their pick-me-up. When her eyes settled on Ryan’s, her face softened.

“Oh- Ryan? Full-caf half-fat vanilla?”

Ryan swallowed thickly, almost tasting the warm honey that was her voice on the flat back of his tongue. “Uh… yeah- sure,” Meg got to work within a second, fiddling with intricate looking machinery that Ryan couldn’t name nor operate as he dragged his feet over to the counter, eyes not leaving her for a second. “So, uh,” small talk was never one of his strong points, but he’d been staring at Meg every morning for three weeks and he was going to have to start somewhere.

“What’re you doing here at this God-forsaken hour?”

Meg shrugged as steamed milk splashed into the cardboard cup. “It’s decent pay, I guess. I do two graveyard shifts a week. It’s pointless in theory, because hardly anyone comes in here until after midnight when the parties get locked off by cops.”

Ryan looked around the ghostly shell of the coffee shop, and then out into the night where one sole person was hurriedly making their way across the street, glancing behind them anxiously.

“You shouldn’t be here all alone.” He said before he could stop himself. “What if something happened to you?”

Meg set his drink on the counter in front of him, popping the cap and pouring in the sugar and the creamer before he had a chance to ask. He looked down on her, realising for the first time just how small she was compared to him, yet somehow, still felt like a threat.

“I can hold my own you know,” she scoffed. “And besides… you’re here, right? You’ll protect me.”

She had clearly said it as a joke- a passing remark to fill the awkward silence, but Ryan couldn’t hide the blush that spread across the entirety of his face, her words and suggestion making his hands tingle as she personally handed him the warm drink, her coffee stained fingers brushing across his as she did so.

 

* * *

 

After the first, every Monday and Wednesday night when Meg worked the graveyard shift, Ryan would stay late marking work and swing by around eleven, finding an excuse to hang out until at least midnight, when eventually- Meg would tell him to stop being so chivalrous and go home before he ended up falling asleep at the wheel.

“You don’t have to do this you know,” she stirred her tea on the fourth graveyard shift they shared, sat on top of the cleaned counter as Ryan stood beside her against it. “keep coming by to check up on me.”

Ryan shrugged. “I stay late marking papers sometimes so… it’s no trouble, honestly.” He decided to conveniently forget the part of his story where he stayed behind on purpose to see her. He was getting so much marking done, he’d be ahead for the next month soon.

“You’re a teacher?” Meg asked, a curious smile blossoming on her face. He nodded.

“Professor, actually.” He said, hoping it wouldn’t sound too gloating. Thankfully, Meg didn’t roll her eyes at him, just smiled encouragingly and nudged him with her shoulder. “ _Professor_ _Haywood_.” She teased, pink tongue poking out from between her pearly white teeth. “No way- where?”

“UoT.” He sipped his coffee. Meg stilled beside him.

“No way!” Her impossible smile somehow grew. “-I go to UoT too!”

Ryan swallowed thickly. How fittingly un-original his life had become. He worked as a teacher in the same university Meg studied in. Ryan was a well-versed enough man to know how this would go, long before he’d ever let it start. He’d seen every shitty romantic comedy and read every worrying news story. He’d seem every pornographic fantasy (both imagined and online). Student-teacher relationships were bad news, and they always ended in tears (and jail sentences).

“I study Media and History.” Meg continued, hardly troubled by something as trivial as a felony. She was as relaxed yet poised as she always was when he saw her, licking the side of her finger where a splash of tea had rolled down it as Ryan watched intently. “What do you teach?”

“Computer Studies.” His eyes didn’t move from her tongue, which retreated back between her lips far to quickly, and he found himself missing it more and more as the seconds went on. Meg watched him staring at her, but for some heavenly reason didn’t decide to comment on it.

“Small world I guess.” She tossed the empty cup into the bin across the shop. “Although, this is sort of the only coffee shop right by school, so I should’ve figured you worked there. Weird- that I’ve been having this stupid obsession on a professor that was at my school the whole time-” She rambled as Ryan’s eyes travelled up to her face, to enraptured by the indescribable blue to realise her blunder before it was too late, words past the point of being taken back. “-I mean,” her smooth dialogue faltered instantly, and the stammering wisps of youth took over. Ryan looked into her eyes and remembered how young she probably was, compared to him. “-that’s not what I… I didn’t mean.”

“It’s okay.” It was definitely his voice, but he was fairly sure his brain hadn’t produced the words. Anxiously, he clasped his hands together. Meg watched him with eyes that appeared as dark as the night sky, except for the strip of desert sand where the light from a passing cars headlights caught them. “I… you- you’re very beautiful.”

For the first time, it was the blush on Meg’s face that darkened and stained her cheeks the head radiating off her body that suddenly reminded Ryan how closely they were sitting together. Meg had a habit of doing that- making herself close to him, touching his arm and resting her face against his shoulder when he made her laugh. He made it his mission to be as entertaining as possible, because every time the makeup on her forehead stained his shirt sleeve she would apologise and brush it with her soft fingers, and it would just be another excuse for the two to be touching again.

“You think I’m beautiful?” she asked. Ryan swallowed despite his coffee cup being abandoned, cold on the edge of the counter. Slowly, he nodded and Meg grinned at him so widely that he thought for a second her lips could split themselves into two. “Thanks Ryan.” She said quietly, before softly laying her head against his shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought via commenting!


	3. Third

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The End!

CHAPTER THREE

 

 

It was another two weeks before Ryan had the courage to go as far as attempting to flirt with Meg again. After their last moment, she had written her number on the edge of an unused napkin and they’d kept in touch outside the hours of drinking coffee and late nights watching the empty streets of Austin.

He’d even found himself looking absentmindedly around the campus, searching the halls for just a glimpse of her bright red hair floating through the building.

“You should try a Frappuccino next.” Meg said, shaking the whipped cream can vigorously and squirting piles on top of a small hot chocolate in an expresso sized mug. That particular night, she’d roped Ryan into drink testing with her. She insisted she needed the practice, but Meg was the most skilled barista Ryan had ever seen.

He drank the shot and hummed his approval, smiling before Meg reached up and wiped the white cream from the top of his lip before drawing her thumb to her own pink mouth, tongue darting out to taste what was left.

Ryan shifted where he sat.

“You know.” She yawned, glancing outside at the empty streets. “Before you got here, some kid came in. Said you were his computer professor.”

Ryan frowned. “Why’d he say that?”

“He asked if I knew your number because you didn’t respond to his email. Think his name was Matt or something like that.” She rolled her neck around her shoulders, and it took Ryan’s full concentration not to become distracted by the shift in her collarbones, visible in the small vest she wore under her open uniform shirt.

“Why’d he ask you?”

“Says everyone told him to ask me if they ever needed to know anything about you.” She laughed, nudging him with her soft shoulder. “Guess I’m gaining a bit of a reputation for being a teacher’s pet.”

Ryan didn’t laugh along with her, eyes wandering to the tips of his shoes. Meg noticed immediately, and turned to face him with a confused frown.

“What?”

Ryan let out a long sigh, hands wringing together by his lap. “Meg… If I get caught by the school board for- _anything_ , I guess, being… _with_ a student for- a long time-” he stumbled through the sentence as Meg’s furrowed brow tried desperately to follow along with his incoherent mumbling, “-like, people talk, you know? And… I could get in serious trouble if they even thought- thought that I… that I could possibly be- like that, with a student and-”

“-I told him I barely knew you, and that I only made your coffee.” Meg interrupted him, one hand resting on his stiffened shoulder briefly. “Relax, Ryan. I’m not an idiot.”

“I never said-”

“-You know what I mean.” She smiled. “I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble for… being _with_ me for a long time.” A teasing tone masked her voice, but Ryan had learnt quickly enough that Meg’s emotion could be read from her hands, and he watched as they anxiously wrung in her lap until he couldn’t take it anymore, and reached out to wrap one slim pale hand with red painted nails in his.

“I, uh,” he laughed, nervously as his thumb traced across hers gently as she watched. “I guess this’ll just have to be one of those… top secret liaisons then. Like in a stupid movie.”

Meg tore her eyes from their interlinked hands, and looked up straight into his. Ryan was a cliché of a man and he knew it. He wore his emotion in his eyes (they _were_ his best feature, apparently) and Meg was drinking it in- every last drop of ice water.

“Professor Ryan Haywood?” her perfect pink tongue poked from between her perfectly painted pink lips. “Are you _flirting_ with me?”

Ryan blushed, but soon enough his smile matched hers in intensity. “Depends,” he replied, glancing around the empty café and then back to her hand, curled into his perfectly. “on whether you think it’s sweet or creepy.”

Meg sighed and leant against his shoulder. “Definitely sweet.” He felt her nod her head against him. “-sweet as your sickening coffee-seriously,” she reached around to pick up another one of Ryan’s abandoned cups, swirling it in her free hand before lifting it to her nose to sniff with a grimace. “Redull, dude. Gatorade- anything else.”

“Alright, maybe I will.” He laughed, and as she turned her face to look at him, he did the same to look at her until their faces were closer together than they ever had been before. “We’ll have to go together. Find somewhere to purchase this magical pick-me-up.”

Meg was never someone to be afraid of being upfront and forwards, but as Ryan stared at her just as intensely as she was staring at him her stomach dropped to her knees and the words- once intended to flow from her mouth as smoothly as velvet- bubbled in an upchuck of uncertainty.

“Like a date?”

Ryan blinked rapidly for a few seconds, but then lowered his head to rest further against hers until there were barely a few centimetres between them. “Yeah.” He whispered, and Meg could smell the vanilla coffee on his breath as it tickled her face. “Like a date.”

“In fact,” he leaned closer still, until Meg felt the small bump of her forehead knocking against his. “Maybe we could just skip the Redbull part all together. It doesn’t sound like a particularly appealing day out. I think you deserve better than a brief trip to the nearest 7/11 to watch me drink literal liquidated caffeine.”

“Alright.” Meg replied smiling as her face rested comfortably against his. “Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading- let me know what you thought in the comments :)
> 
> Question: Should I keep writing turnwood? Do you like the way I write turnwood? Let me know via comments / hmu with prompts via tumblr (PAPERSK1N.tumblr.com)


End file.
